Christmas Pork Loin Traybake with Apples and Prunes
- Savory
- No rush
- Oven
Pork loin roasted with potatoes, apples and prunes, glazed with cider and cinnamon until the edges caramelize. A high-protein centrepiece with all the festive flavours in one tray.
- Total
- 1 h 35
- Prep 20 · Cook 65 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Basting
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 220°C. Cut the potatoes into 2.5 cm chunks, leaving the skin on. Core the apples and cut them into 3 cm wedges. Halve any large prunes.
~12 min
-
Toss the potatoes on the large roasting tray with the olive oil, 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper. Spread them in a single layer and roast for 20 minutes until the edges start to colour.
~20 min
A single layer lets hot air circulate around each chunk, so the potatoes brown instead of steaming and turning soggy.
Roasting Give the potatoes room in a single layer and roast at high heat so they brown at the edges; crowding the tray steams them and they stay pale and soft.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the potatoes roast, pat the pork loin dry and season it all over with the remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Stir the cider and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
~5 min
Drying the surface lets it brown rather than steam, and salting now seasons the meat through before it goes in the oven.
-
Pull the tray from the oven and push the potatoes to the edges. Set the pork loin in the centre, scatter the apple wedges and prunes around it, and pour the cider mixture over the pork and fruit.
~5 min
Keeping the pork in the centre and the fruit around it lets the juices and cider baste the fruit as they cook down.
-
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, spooning the pan juices over the pork twice, until the pork reaches 63°C at the centre and the apples and prunes are soft and caramelized at the edges.
~40 min
Spooning the juices over the lean loin keeps it moist, and the sugars in the cider and fruit caramelize as the liquid reduces.
Pork loin is lean, so pull it from the oven the moment it hits 63°C. The 10 minute rest finishes the cooking gently and keeps the slices juicy.
If the cider evaporates before the pork is done, add 3 tbsp water to the tray so the apples and prunes steam rather than scorch.
Roasting Give the potatoes room in a single layer and roast at high heat so they brown at the edges; crowding the tray steams them and they stay pale and soft.
Basting Spoon the pan juices over the loin twice during roasting to keep the lean meat moist; use a spoon that has not touched raw pork.
-
Move the pork to a board, tent loosely with aluminium foil and rest for 10 minutes. Return the tray of potatoes and fruit to the oven if they need more colour. Slice the pork and serve with the roasted apples, prunes and pan juices.
~10 min
Resting lets the juices redistribute through the meat, so they stay in the slices instead of running out onto the board.
